Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546061
THE beginning of Tuesday's proceedings centred on Sig- nal and WhatsApp conversa- tions extracted from Fenech's electronic devices, revealing a close relationship between former deputy commission- er Silvio Valletta and the ac- cused. Jurors were shown messag- es in which the pair discussed football trips to Madrid, pri- vate jet arrangements, meet- ings and personal matters. In one exchange, Valletta tells Fenech: "You're my best friend," while in another he writes: "Let's take it step by step and we'll get there. We'll be right behind you." The court also saw photo- graphs of Valletta recovered from Fenech's phone and a video of him inside a white Rolls Royce in a Portomaso garage. During cross-examination, however, the defence estab- lished that none of the chats referred to the Daphne Caru- ana Galizia murder investi- gation, although prosecutors later highlighted that Valletta had been the superior officer of lead investigators Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra. Jurors were then shown emails allegedly extracted from a laptop seized from Fenech's yacht, named Gio, discussing the purchase of a Glock pistol, a Scorpion automatic rifle, a Browning firearm, ammunition and a suppressor. Other emails referred to an alleged cyanide order and Bitcoin payments. WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 5 AUGUST 2026 • ISSUE 1005 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL • PAGE 11 Young people's mental health services should be distinct from adult services - inquiry THE Young People's Unit, a mental healthcare institution, should be sit- uated away from adult services and have access to an outdoor area, an inquiry is recommending. The inquiry also called for a struc- tured timetable conducive to healing and a building physically designed to accommodate children with disabili- ties. It also identified an "urgent gap" in the system—a semi-secure unit for adolescents who no longer need the YPU's intensive care but would still be at risk if returned home. CONTINUES PAGE 5 WEDNESDAY EDITION 'We'll be right behind you,' Silvio Valletta told Yorgen Fenech in shocking messages shown to jury Former deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta's close relationship with Yorgen Fenech, alleged dark web emails discussing firearms and cyanide, and dramatic testimony from the captain of Fenech's yacht dominated proceedings on the 30th day of the Yorgen Fenech jury CONTINUES PAGE 4 Ex-deputy police chief Silvio Valletta YORGEN FENECH JURY TRIAL JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt MAYA GALEA mgalea@mediatoday.com.mt